I had afternoon tea with Dr. Gladys McGarey in her enchanted cottage, complete with Quan Yins, angels and real-life bunny rabbits in her yard. We sat comfortably in her living room, amidst her many awards and personal treasures that challenged me to keep my eyes just on her. Her petite and spritely frame held a posture of informal and ageless greatness, chatting away, story after story, keeping me in awe of her world travels and connections. I had to force myself to stay in the present moment with her, traveling through time and a cast of characters that kept me on the edge of my seat. Often, I had to remind myself that she was 91 years old, though her energy and mind defied that fact. I was seated at the foot of a great master, after all, doing my best to memorize her sparkle as well as her words. Her braided silver knot, wrapped atop her head, looked more like a halo to me.
In her 91 years on this planet, Dr. Gladys has traveled the world as the Healer that she is, forever keeping her commitment to serve people first: ‘To treat people exactly the same is crazy making,’ she shrieks. ‘Medicine treats diseases, not people! My life’s work is to bridge the gap between holistic and traditional medicine, treating people as whole unique and individual beings.’ Known as the ‘mother of holistic medicine and natural childbirth,’ Dr. Gladys isn’t done yet. She is outrageously and courageously out there in the healthcare arena, committed to opening a prototype Birthing Center here in Phoenix since the one in the John C. Lincoln hospital recently closed. She has had meetings and conversations with President Obama, whom she notes as ‘the only President who ever asked for help’ in this world of healthcare. As a result, Dr. Gladys initiated a ‘Gathering of the Eagles, 40 well known physicians from all over the world, to ‘leave their ego at the door’ so they could bring ‘a paradigm shift to healing’ that will soon be presented to Congress to help heal a system that is so broken. Her vision for this new Birthing Center not only reduces birthing costs substantially, but, more importantly, brings the human touch and presence back into the most critically important part of life: birth!
Dr. Gladys is a living legacy, picking up the dream her parents, both American medical missionaries, started when she was born and raised in India. At the time of her birth, her parents had to choose again the work they were doing when the hospital they were working in, closed. ‘It’s in my DNA,’ Dr. Gladys declares absolutely. ‘I’m no where near done in helping and healing the birthing process. Women have known how to have babies since the beginning of time…then we interfered! The only babies I have delivered were my own 6 children…and I have only HELPED other women deliver their babies. The organic process is what I believe in, not the mechanical way where moms and babies are hooked up to machines, monitors, tubes and convenient c-section deliveries. Understanding and listening to Mom, her breathing, her pains and positions throughout delivery, is what matters most.’
Amen, Dr. Gladys. Shine on, light the way, to a more perfect world where BIRTH is indeed the beginning of a life’s magical journey. Dr. Gladys still walks this planet at 91, and will have a presence here forever more!
